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I have started this family law blog to provide up-to-date and accurate information concerning divorce, separation, custody, child support and other family law issues.

I have been a Rochester, New York, family law lawyer since 1996, helping people in Rochester, Monroe County, and nearby counties. I counsel my clients on separation, divorce, custody, custodial relocation, child support, adoption, parental kidnapping, pre-marital agreements, post-marital agreements, and equitable distribution of property issues, such as business interests, stock options, professional licenses, pensions, and profit-sharing plans.

In addition, I handle collaborative family law cases which allow for amicable resolution of family disputes.

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Tag: best interests of child

I have previously written about exclusive possession of a marital residence during a pending divorce action. The applicable standard requires a showing of a marital strife and that the parties were unable to coexist in the same house. I recently had an opportunity to litigate this issue in a situation where the parties’ conduct has not arisen to the level of marital strife, but the conflict was affecting the parties’ children. Justice Richard A. Dollinger of the Monroe County Supreme Court reviewed and addressed this issue in L.M.L.v. H.T.N. a/k/a H.T.N., 57 Misc.3d 1207(A) (Sup. Ct. Monroe County 2017).

Having reviewed the history of the marital strife standard, Justice Dollinger wrote that lower courts have generally required more evidence of “strife” than the “petty harassments such as the hostility and contempt admittedly demonstrated herein that are routinely part and parcel of an action for divorce.” However, he also noted that even minimal levels of domestic discord impact children living in a besieged household. Given those circumstances, he wrote that:

The harm of a hostile home environment – populated with foul words, disparaging comments, loud demeaning voices, frequent arguments and verbal fights – and the fear for safety of the mother and the children rise, in this court’s view, to the level of domestic violence that [*10]mandates court intervention.Second, this court concedes that simply separating the parents may not end the torrent of verbal abuse directed at the other parent: even in new separate residences, a parent can unleashed verbal abuse and make demeaning comments about the other parent. The children will be exposed to that language, perhaps even harsher than what would be uttered in the company of both parents. But, the children will be spared the retort, the rising voices, the angry face-to-face confrontations that ensue when a parent begins a verbal argument. This difference — between the comments of separated parents living in separate residences and confrontations of parents living in the same residence — may be seem of minor importance to the judiciary, but it would seem to be easily classified as in the “better interests” of the children.

Justice Dollinger summarized the issues before the court as “[t]he mere suggestion that “exclusive use” should hinge, in any fashion, on the “voluntary establishment of an alternative residence” also suggests that preventing domestic violence may depend, in part, on the untenable notion that the convenience of one party’s ability to secure short-term housing away from the home is somehow more important than the emotional security of the children.” The above holding represents a significant departure from the existing standard. I agree with the decision and have always thought that the marital strife standard was unduly restrictive. I will be interested to see if this decision will be followed by other court in pending divorce cases.

One issue that may come up in custody cases is whether a nonresidential parent has ability to take a child abroad during his or her period of visitation. It is not uncommon for a residential parent to object to such request, and sometimes parties wind up in court seeking a determination whether such travel can be permitted.

In a recent case, Russo v. Carmel, 2011 N.Y. Slip. Op. 05889 (4th Dept. 2011), the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, permitted the father to travel to Italy with his two year old child for a period of not more than 15 days on 60 days’ notice to the mother. The mother opposed the request, arguing that the child was never away from the mother for longer than 48 hours, that the father’s visitation was limited to 48 hour periods and that the child would be in an unfamiliar environment with relatives who were unknown to the child. The court held that the record established that, although the father’s visitation with the child was limited, the father has a close bond with her and, during visitation, he prepared her meals, bathed her, administered medication as necessary and took her on outings. Further, the mother did not express any concerns that the father would abscond with the child. The court concluded that it is in the best interests of the child to travel with the father to Italy to meet her extended family.

While in most cases the court is unlikely to allow a parent to travel abroad with a very young child, in this case, the father was able to present convincing evidence that the trip was intended to introduce the child to her relatives abroad. Further, the mother was unable to present any evidence of the father’s inability to take care of the child and was not afraid that the father would refuse to come back to the United States. In view of these facts, the trial court’s decision and the Appellate Division’s decision were clearly correct. While the residential parent may have a significant measure of control over non-residential parent’s ability to travel with the child, the residential parent should not raise objections unless there is specific evidence that such travel would be inappropriate and not in the best interests of the child.

Prior to the enactment of the Child Support Standards Act, contained in Family Court Act §413 and Domestic Relations Law §240, the courts had held that the provision of a college education to one’s minor children was not a necessary expense for which a parent could be obligated in the absence of a voluntary agreement or special circumstances. Haessly v. Haessly, 203 A.D.2d 700 (3d Dept. 1994). However, recent case law recognized that special circumstances, which involve the educational background of the parents, the child’s academic ability, and the parents’ financial ability to provide the necessary funds, continue to be relevant factors in applying the standard set forth by the Legislature in the Child Support Standards Act for determining whether an award for college expenses is appropriate.

It is clear that the Court has the power to order a parent to pay his child’s educational costs even though the parties’ settlement agreement is silent on that issue. Manocchio v. Manocchio, 16 A.D.3d 1126 (4th Dept. 2005); McDonald v. McDonald, 262 A.D.2d 1028 (4th Dept. 1999). As aptly noted in Mrowka v. Mrowka, 260 A.D.2d 613, 613 (2d Dept. 1999), “Although the parties’ stipulation of settlement was silent as to the costs of college, this does not necessarily mean that an agreement was reached pursuant to which college costs would not constitute a component of the parties’ obligation to pay child support.”

According to the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, Fruchter v. Fruchter, 288 A.D.2d 942, 943 (4th Dept. 2001), the Child Support Standards Act authorizes an award of educational expenses where warranted by the best interests of the children and as justice requires, upon a showing of “special circumstances”. Relevant factors include the educational background of the parents, the child’s scholastic ability, and the parents’ ability to provide the necessary funds. Id.

In Manocchio v. Manocchio, 16 A.D.3d 1126 (4th Dept. 2005), the Appellate Division, the Fourth Department, rejected the father’s contention that Family Court improperly denied his objection to an order requiring him to pay half of his daughter’s educational expenses. The Fourth Department held that the support magistrate properly determined that the petitioner-mother was unable to meet the child’s educational needs on the income and support that she was receiving, and that the respondent-father had the ability to pay support. Id.

Therefore, even if the parties have a separation agreement that is silent on the issue of paying for college, they may be directed to pay for their child’s college education by the court.